Panzer II

The Panzer II was originally designed as a stop-gap until larger and more advanced tanks were developed. However, it would go to on to play an important role in the early years of World War II, during the Polish and French campaigns The German Panzer divisions consisted of more Panzer II's than any other tank, beginning with the invasion of France. The tank was replaced by the Panzer III and IV by 1940/1941.

In 1934, it became clear that the development and production of the mark III and IV medium tanks was not going to completed as required, so the Panzer II was developed to fill this shortfall with its design based on the Panzer I, only larger and with a 20 mm anti-tank gun in the turret, but this would prove to be ineffective against most of the Allied tanks. Production began in 1935, although it took another eighteen months for the first Panzer II's to be delivered. Top speed was 40 kph (25 mph), although later models with better transmission could achieve a top road speed of 55 km/h (33 mph). All variants had a range of 200 km (120 mi).

Above is a track from a Panzer II, which was recovered from somewhere in the Ardennes, so while it is most likely a relic of the Blitzkrieg of 1940, it could equally have been lost during the battles of 1944. Unfortunately, it passed through several owners since being recovered from the battlefield. so we do not know where it was found, which means that it is not even possible to propose a potential theory of when it was lost, based upon where it was recovered.